This invention relates to shoring methods and apparatus for supporting concrete forms, and more particularly to shoring of floor-forming forms in a multi-story building.
Multi-story buildings are often constructed by erecting a group of columns that are intended to support the weight of the floors. The concrete floors are then poured and partially hardened. In order to pour concrete for each new floor, shoring must be set up to support the forms at the desired height above the next lower floor. This is commonly accomplished by positioning a truss over the already-formed floor, placing stringer beams or stringers on top of the truss, and mounting the concrete forms on the stringers. The truss is commonly supported on the already-formed floor by numerous legs that extend vertically from the truss to the floor. One of the problems encountered in this shoring procedure is that the concrete floor on which the supporting legs rest may be only partially hardened and therefore may not be capable of reliably supporting the weight of the shoring and concrete to be poured. Accordingly, contractors often must brace the leg-supporting floor by reshoring, which includes establishing shoring under the floor to transfer some of the weight to lower floors. The reshoring procedure can involve considerable manpower and therefore can greatly increase the cost of construction. Instead of supporting the truss on vertically-extending legs, it is possible to support them on beams whose ends are fastened to columns of the building, in those cases where the columns are closely spaced. However, this requires that beam-supporting brackets be attached to the columns, which can be costly, and that the columns be patched up after such brackets have been removed.